Conquering Fears
by Prisoner Len
Summary: Shinra has renovated its elevators, and Cloud's about to take one with Sephiroth. Absolutely nothing can go wrong, right? Wrong. Sequel to Learning to Love Stairs; ASGZC


Cloud felt important.

He was standing in front of the glass elevator of Shinra once again—though it had been quite awhile since his last visit. But this time, he wasn't clutching paperwork.

No, this time he was clutching Sephiroth's hand, and was headed to the 44th floor.

Because this time, he was going to work with his boyfriend. That meant he was important, right? Right.

In the few months since he had last set foot in those damn elevators, President Shinra had stopped being a greedy tub of lard and remodeled them. They now _supposedly_ had a capacity of eight, and were less prone to getting stuck. Supposedly. Rumor had it that they still regularly stopped moving, and Cloud had definitely heard that somebody died while waiting for it to start going again. And frankly, Cloud was pretty positive the death was related to somebody sticking their arm in the elevator doors. Serves them right.

His brilliant stairs plan hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped. For some reason, Cloud never realized that there were more stairs than floors at Shinra Inc., and after climbing a mere three floors, he had called his boyfriend, bawling and begging him to come get him. Although that incident was technically related to the voices echoing through the stairways and he couldn't figure out where the speakers were. He suspected ghosts, and was thankful Sephiroth didn't have much to say on the matter.

Except Sephiroth not having anything to say probably meant it was true and Shinra's stairways were indeed haunted.

Either way, Cloud vowed never to take the stairs again, and was waiting for the elevator with Sephiroth on the 1st floor. Cloud's backpack was slung over his shoulder, and he nibbled on a cookie the secretary had given him.

And he wasn't scared. Not one bit. Because this time, he had Sephiroth, and that meant absolutely nothing could go wrong. Right? Right.

The elevator dinged, the doors slid open, and together, they stepped into the—thankfully—empty glass box.

Still munching his cookie, Cloud cocked a blonde eyebrow and examined the remodeled elevator. It was indeed quite a bit bigger, and he was pleased to find that he could stand more than two feet from his boyfriend—not that he planned on it. He smiled up at Sephiroth, and Sephiroth smiled back. The past months had turned Cloud into a much braver person; he no longer ran from people with beards, and pickles no longer looked like the spawn of the devil in food form.

And Cloud was damn proud of himself.

A little ding sounded, and the doors started to shut. Cloud hummed happily to himself; it was a beautiful day, and he was very excited to spend it with Sephi—_AND THERE WAS A FUCKING ARM STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR DOORS_. Cloud's jaw dropped and he began to panic, flinging his arms around and pointing frantically at the doors, pulling on Sephiroth's arm and babbling unintelligibly.

Someday, he would learn that the doors would merely bounce back open.

And bounce back they did, revealing a very happy-go-lucky Zack Fair, looking all too cheerful for seven in the morning. Cloud heaved a relieved sigh; trust Zack to try to lose his arm—didn't he know he only had two? Or… Cloud hoped he only had two. Who really knew when it came to Shinra? Hojo _had_ survived the book-to-the-head incident after all. The mere fact that the man was still wandering around made his skin crawl.

"Zack!" Cloud cried happily, flinging himself at his best friend.

"Hey, Spike!" the raven-haired SOLDIER replied, picking the blonde up and spinning him around. "What luck! I get to ride to work with you two idiots!"

Cloud stuck his tongue out and opened his mouth to comment—

And then his eyes widened and he stared up and over Zack's shoulder.

At Angeal-_fucking_-Hewley.

"Hello, Clarice." Angeal smiled down at Cloud, reaching over his mentee's shoulder to ruffle the blonde spikes.

"W-Wh-Wha…" Cloud spluttered, shrinking back, eyes wide in fear.

…Wait, did Angeal just call him _Clarice_? Why the hell did _everyone_ think his name was Clarice? He'd gotten a bit of a trim, and even had some muscle! He did _not_ look like a girl! His mouth dropped into a pout, and Zack and Sephiroth gave Angeal looks of utter confusion. As fucking _terrified_ as Cloud was, it didn't mean he couldn't set facts strai—

"Who the fuck is Clarice?" Sephiroth inquired, raising his eyebrows.

Angeal blinked back, then frowned down at Cloud—who almost started to cry solely because he was being frowned at. "His name's not Clarice?"

"Isn't Clarice a girl's name?" Zack interrupted, staring at Cloud.

"I'm pretty sure it is, now tha—"

"Wait, so what's his name?" Angeal asked, rubbing his bearded chin and _still _frowning at Cloud.

The blonde suddenly had the urge to pee, and he wasn't sure if it was because he'd skipped doing so that morning, or if it was because Angeal was frowning at him—oh _fuck_, Zack's face worked itself into a frown. Zack was frowning at Angeal, who was frowning at Cloud, and all Cloud wanted was to go to work with his boyfriend. Have a nice day. Not run into Hojo, and, you know, not eat peanut butter. Was it really too much to ask for?

Obviously.

He swallowed hard, and worked up the nerve to reply. "C-Cloud, sir."

Sephiroth wrapped a comforting arm around the cadet and pulled him close, making room for Angeal and Zack in the newly-renovated elevator. Cloud inched closer to the General, cautiously watching Angeal… hold Zack's hand? He tilted his head back to see if Sephiroth noticed, but the man's expression was that of complete shock and he was staring at the doors. Cloud frowned and started to turn his head to find out what was so—

"Oh my fucking _Gaia_!" Cloud blurted, slamming back into Sephiroth.

There was a bloody arm in the door.

There was a bloody. _Fucking_. _Arm_. Flailing around between the elevator doors.

Cloud's breakfast tried to make a forceful return to the outside world, and he clapped his hands over his mouth. Zack let out a surprised yelp, and Angeal gasped—and then the doors slid open, and there was a collective sigh of relief to find that the arm was indeed still attached to a body.

And then Cloud choked on his own spit and slammed back in Sephiroth once again because _Genesis_ was walking into the elevator.

"Morning, Gen." Sephiroth mused, staring at the redhead's arm. "What happened?"

"Well, see, I was lecturing this cadet, and he tried to run." Genesis started to explain, jabbing the button for the 44th floor and planting himself between Cloud and Zack. Cloud inched ever so slightly away. "And so I grabbed him. But then he—"

"Bit you?" Zack supplied, poking the oozing bite mark on the Commander's arm.

"Yes." Genesis replied wistfully, examining his arm. "Oh well. I fucking—"

"You didn't hurt the cadet, I hope." Angeal cut in, propping one hand on his hip and frowning at Genesis.

Cloud made an honest attempt at creeping around Sephiroth and hiding behind him, but his boyfriend had different plans and wrapped his other arm around him, resting his chin on Cloud's blonde spikes. The elevator was comfortable with four people, but five? Five was… well, Genesis's elbow was uncomfortably close to Cloud's eye socket.

If he went blind in one eye, he would know who to blame.

And that thought scared him about as much as the cartoon he had watched that morning—the one with the rabbit and the duck. Talking animals were fucking _horrifying_. They were on the same level as curtains, fish, and jello—things that Cloud never wanted to come in contact or within five feet of. Unfortunately, Sephiroth had curtains on all of his windows, so when the blonde slept over, he steered clear of every window.

The elevator doors finally slid shut—this time _without_ any arms—and Cloud tried to hide in his boyfriend's embrace. Genesis whipped out Loveless, casually wiping the blood off of his arm onto his coat. Cloud stared at Zack and Angeal's intertwined hands, confused; was there something his best friend hadn't told him? Were Zack and Angeal… dating? His gaze traveled up the muscular arm to the bearded man's face. He was smiling down at Zack, his expression soft and not at all scary.

Thus, Cloud whipped out his cell phone, typed up a quick text message, and sent it to Zack… who was standing about three feet away. He then proceeded to turn his head and stare straight at the teen.

Because, you know, that wasn't totally suspicious or anything.

The whir of a cell phone vibrating echoed through the quiet elevator, and everyone turned to watch Zack slide his phone out of his pocket and flip it open. He playfully nudged Angeal with his shoulder and hunched over his phone to read the message.

And then he snorted loudly, looked at Cloud, and simply said, "Well, _duh_."

Yes, Cloud had texted his best friend to ask if Angeal was dating him. Gods forbid he be patient and wait until later to ask—or say it out loud and attract the attention of four people. Cloud didn't deal well with public speaking; the last time he'd had to speak in front of more than two people, he had thrown up. Actually, it was more like he projectile vomited. In their faces, and on one person's shoes. On the plus side, that teacher no longer asked him to answer questions in front of his peers—or called on the blonde at all.

And now four people were staring at him, and Angeal was frowning.

Cloud was starting to reconsider his fear of beards.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, leaning towards Zack ever so slightly. Genesis curiously peeked over the top of his book.

Zack yanked up Angeal's hand and pointed to it. "Because we've been holding hands in public since before you got with General Crankypants?"

Genesis snorted loudly and Sephiroth frowned. "I am not Cranky—"

"No, you _definitely_ are." the redhead interrupted. "Remember that time Zack accidentally overflowed the bathtub, and flooded the bathroom? You almost fucking killed him."

"Yeah, but—"

"And then there was that time that Angeal wouldn't take his pants off fast enough so you—"

"_Genesis_!" Sephiroth snarled, slapping him upside the head.

Cloud's eyes grew wide, and he tilted his head back to frown at his boyfriend. "_Why_ was Angeal taking his pants off?"

No answer.

"Seph…?" he said meekly, pouting cutely.

"Well—"

Genesis shook his head and patted the General on the shoulder. "He was dating _us_ before he was dating _you_."

Cloud's initial reaction was to blink at Genesis. Then he gawked at Angeal and Zack—who was blushing and glaring at the Commander. And then he fainted. Collapsed right to the floor, out of sheer terror of the fact that _Sephiroth_ had dated _Angeal_ and _Genesis_. Cloud had indirectly kissed Angeal and Genesis 1,434 times in the past three months—not that he was keeping track or anything—and gods knew where their lips had been.

And oh dear _Gaia_, what if Sephiroth had touched their _private parts_?

"Aww, he's adorable when he's asleep." the redhead cooed, tilting his head and smiling.

"He's not sleeping." Sephiroth growled, crouching down and pushing blonde spikes out of Cloud's face. "You scared the hell out of him."

"What? How's it _my_ f—"

An eerie creaking noise echoed throughout the elevator and the remaining conscious occupants of the elevator looked around in confusion. And then the elevator jerked to a stop, and remained motionless between the 33rd and 34th floors. With a dramatic sigh, Genesis dropped his arms to his sides, stomped his foot, and threw his head back to glare at the ceiling.

"I thought they _fixed_ these fucking elevators!" he whined moodily, plopping down in the middle of the floor.

Angeal shook his head, and he and Zack sank down to the floor next to the redhead. Cloud blinked his bright blue eyes slowly open, pulling himself back into consciousness and smiling up at his boyfriend. Then he bolted upright and clung to Sephiroth's t-shirt, eyes wide. "Seph! I had the _weirdest_ dream!" he squeaked, pulling the General closer. "I dreamt that you and Angeal and Zack and Gene… sis…"

He stared at Genesis for a long moment. And then screamed shrilly, much like a woman in a thriller. It wasn't a dream, because sitting right there, grinning ear to ear, was _Genesis_, and sitting next to him was _Angeal_, with _Zack_ on his lap, and they were all _holding hands_.

"You weren't dreaming, baby." Sephiroth murmured.

And by gods, Cloud wished he had been. Alongside his crippling fear of napkins, blenders, and remote controllers, he had a rather large fear of _male_ _body parts_. He didn't even like touching his _own_—going to the bathroom was like conquering an army alone. And if they had all been together, then they most definitely…

"Did you guys have _sex_?" he blurted.

Four pairs at eye blinked back at him. Staring. Cloud did _not_ like staring. He shifted uncomfortably and refrained from crawling over Sephiroth's shoulder when Genesis leaned closer. "Nope." he answered, patting the blonde on the cheek.

"Well," Angeal started slowly, subtly changing the subject. "Since we're stuck here—"

"Stuck?" Cloud interrupted in a high-pitched, fear-filled voice.

He squinted around Sephiroth's arm at the glass walls. The skyline was not moving. Holy _shit_, they were _stuck_. They were stuck miles above Midgar, and Genesis was staring at him. Sometimes, Cloud suspected that a higher power of some sort wanted him to live his life in fear; he had gotten over his fear of elevators, beards, small spaces, and was almost past that whole "people are staring" problem. And now they were all crashing back on him.

"Uh…" Zack dug his hand around inside his backpack, tongue sticking out between his lips. "Aha! We can play a game." He pulled his hand out and…

Oh dear Gaia.

Zack waved a pack of playing cards around excitedly.

Did he _know_ how many germs were on playing cards? A lot. A _lot_ of germs were on playing cards—in fact, Cloud theorized that in a deck of cards life span, they came in contact with 224 different people's hands, and a large fraction of those people did not wash their hands first. Or ever. That on its own was a horrifying thing to think of, but the cards? They caused paper cuts. And paper cuts sometimes _bled_. And blood made Cloud want to throw up.

And why the hell were they playing cards? Hadn't they _just_ told him about some past _foursome_?

"Wait—" Everyone turned to stare at him. Again. He swallowed hard. "W-What happened to dating?"

"Well—"

"Sephiroth broke up with us when he met you." Angeal simply supplied, cutting Zack off.

"W-What?" He turned to Sephiroth with a frown. "Y-You dumped them for me?"

"I didn't think you were into that kind of thing." the General explained with a small shrug, cocking an eyebrow.

That shrug apparently declared the conversation over and Zack dealt the cards—Cloud politely declined, of course. He watched them play their game, confused; he hadn't a single clue what they were playing. Sephiroth kissed him behind the ear and suggested he pick a card, so he shakily pointed to the queen of hearts, avoiding the edges as though they would rip his hands off—which they could potentially do with a paper cut, of course. It was fascinating watching them play—Genesis seemed much less catty in the company of his friends and Angeal laughed a few times. Genesis even complimented Cloud on his card choice.

…Maybe he was overreacting a little.

Beards weren't all that bad, right? Angeal looked good with one, and he obviously made Zack happy—and Sephiroth at some point. And Cloud trusted Sephiroth with his life. Fire wasn't so bad if the person controlling it knew what they were doing, and Cloud had heard Genesis was very good when it came to handling his fire. And Zack wasn't ugly or anything—honestly, Cloud had had a crush on his best friend for awhile and had assumed he was straight.

Cloud now knew what happened when one assumed—or he remembered part of the assumption-based phrase. Something about asses? He shuddered; butts were more disgusting than certain _other_ body parts. Zack threw his hand down, bellowing triumphantly when he beat everyone else, and Cloud made a bold move.

On hands and knees, he crawled forward, grabbed Zack's shirt, and yanked him down into a kiss.

The elevator fell silent and Cloud pulled away, leaning back into Sephiroth's chest. Half of him wished he hadn't been brave—because now everyone was staring _again_—while the other half was cheering because he _had_ done it. He cleared his throat, swallowed, then looked across the elevator at Zack and Angeal, his face bright red. "We should, uh… Do a movie sometime?"

Everyone started speaking at once, Genesis half-screaming in excitement.

"Do you mean—"

"—boyfriend—"

"—Did you just ask—"

"Cloud Strife, did you just ask them out?" Sephiroth interrupted, staring down at the shy cadet in awe.

"Ye—"

The elevator jerked back to life, surprising a loud squeak from Cloud, and continued its climb to the 44th floor. Four pairs of eyes watched him expectantly as they climbed to their feet, Zack shoving the playing cards back into his bag in a hurry. "Um, well…" He twisted his hands nervously. "Y-Yes."

And then there was a rush of movement, and Cloud was being wrapped up in Genesis' arms, then pried from him and hugged slightly too tightly for his comfort by Angeal. One kiss, two kiss, re—three kiss, and finally a kiss from Sephiroth sealed the deal, and by the time the elevator finally slowed to a stop on the 44th floor, they were all holding hands. Cloud smiled up at the Commander, and he smiled right back. Anywhere else, people would probably gawk at five men walking out of an elevator, holding hands and laughing.

But Shinra wasn't just anywhere. Nobody thought it was odd—just like nobody would be surprised to see someone walking down the hall with three hands. For fuck's sake, they had their elevators renovated and they _still_ didn't work right, and their resident genius liked to inject mysterious _fluids_ in people.

As they walked down the hallway, getting to know each other, Cloud made a life-changing realization: he was no longer afraid of Genesis or Angeal. He felt damn proud of himself, and strut down that hallway with his head held high, feeling that nothing could put a stop to his happiness today.

Then Cloud saw a man walk out of the restroom, and touch Sephiroth's doorknob to open the door for them. And just like that, he developed a fear of doorknobs. Luckily, he now had eight hands willing to open doors for him—as well as hold him, brush his hair back, and beat the living shit out of spiders, mosquitoes, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and Hojo. He giggled cutely as Angeal ruffled his spikes and Genesis kissed him on the forehead. He smiled at them, and they smiled back.

Life was good.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm alive!<strong>

**I have been massively you-wouldn't-believe it busy/exhausted lately. Add on a topping of writer's block, and I haven't been able to get through a single idea—or really come up with anything. So a sequel it was! I'm sorry for not having much to upload lately. I'm trying, I promise. D:**

**Thank you so much for reading. Review? They make me happy, haha.**


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